WORLD PREMIERE of IMPACT AT ODELL JOHNSON THEATER - LANEY COLLEGE, OAKLAND APRIL 4-13. IMPACT is NOT your kids' recital! It is an on-the-edge-of-your-seat dance/theater ride that will move and amaze audiences of all ages. ______________________

DATES & TIMES: Friday, April 4th at 7:30 pm (box office open at 6:30pm; doors open at 7pm) Saturday, April 5th at 7:30 pm (box office open at 6:30pm; doors open at 7pm)Friday, April 11th at 7:30 pm (box office open at 6:30pm; doors open at 7pm)Saturday, April 12th at 2 pm (box office open at 1:00pm; doors open at 1:30pm) AND at 7:30pm (box office open at 6:30pm; doors open at 7pm)Sunday, April 13th at 5pm (box office open at 4pm; doors open at 4:30pm)

***Make sure to select correct show date and time in the ticket purchasing section***

The nationally acclaimed model of youth arts and violence prevention organizations, Oakland-based Destiny Arts Center, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the world premiere of IMPACT. IMPACT is a movement/theater production created by the young artists of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company in collaboration with Artistic Directors Sarah Crowell and Rashidi Omari with Destiny Arts Center staff and alumni as well as acclaimed performing arts professionals, most notably Evelyn Thomas of the contemporary dance company, Nuba Dance Theater (www.nubadancetheater.org) and Amelia Rudolph of the aerial dance company, Bandaloop (www.bandaloop.org), both internationally recognized artistic directors and choreographers.

IMPACT is a full-length work featuring a cast of 42 talented youth ages 9 to 18 who perform a scintillating combination of hip-hop, modern and aerial dance, theater, spoken word, rap and song, accompanied by powerful video backdrop art. This year's 21st annual production takes you on a journey into the visionary minds of a generation of young people bombarded with a staggering amount of information that could either make them numb or spur them into action. This group has chosen to wake up and take a stand around issues that have powerful impact on themselves, their communities and their world - environmental destruction, unhealthy food and water, negative attitudes about their bodies, and violence of all kinds. The group takes on these intense social issues with appropriate seriousness, but also with a wildly sophisticated sense of humor. They tackle issues of low self-esteem in a scene called Make Up Anonymous and environmental issues in a scene called the Plastic Bag Vampire. The work will make you cry and it will also make you laugh.

IMPACT is limited to just six sell-out performances Friday, April 4th & Saturday, April 5th at 7:30 pm AND Friday, April 11th at 7:30pm and Saturday, April 12th at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and Sunday, April 13th at 5pm at the Odell Johnson Theater at Laney College, 900 Fallon Street, Oakland, 94607.

Tickets for IMPACT are priced $13-$30 sliding scale for adults ($20 suggested) and $7 for youth 18 and under and may be purchased through Destiny Arts Center at www.destinyarts.org or 510-597-1619 x 100. Group rates are available. The theater is wheelchair accessible.

About Destiny Arts CenterDestiny Arts Center, a nonprofit violence prevention and arts education organization, has been serving youth for 25 years through afterschool, weekend and summer programs in dance, theater, martial arts, self-defense, conflict resolution, performance and leadership at their North Oakland center and in East Bay public schools. The programs serve up to 500 youth at the Center and up to 4,000 youth through outreach programs in up to 45 public schools annually.

About the Destiny Arts Youth Performance CompanyThe Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company is a multicultural group of teens that create dynamic productions in collaboration with professional artists, combining hip hop, modern, and aerial dance, theater, song and rap, that express their experience, strength and hope for themselves, their communities and their world. Since 1993 has performed for up to 25,000 audience members annually with a strong reputation for creating high quality, professional, original productions and performances.

What People Are Saying About the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company"I saw the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company do their thing on stage, and they were dazzling! A combination of wonderful talent, high energy, and social consciousness."Howard Zinn, historian, activist and author of A People's History of the United States

"The Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company is a politically astute, talented and visionary group of young people who combine political activism with cutting edge cultural expression."Angela Davis, author/activist/educator

"Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company vividly demonstrated hip hop may be the coolest way to bring kids of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds together to advance the values of a multi-ethnic, multicultural society."Ann Murphy, Oakland Tribune

"I was amazed at the talent and profound insight of these young people and how well they articulated issues they care about through dance, music and spoken word. The combination of politics and funk was both exciting and inspiring!"Peter Bratt, director/screenwriter, "Follow Me Home"

"In these times, young people are hungry for the integrity, humanity and spiritual connection that is lacking in the world around them. Destiny Arts creates a strong link for people to remember their connection to their ancestors and recreate a responsible mindful way of being for generations to come. Our future looks hopeful."Lakota Harden, Native American dancer/activist

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